


red carpet

by thedarknesswithin (babylxxrry)



Series: drabbles [4]
Category: Pentatonix, Superfruit
Genre: Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 23:31:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10581753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babylxxrry/pseuds/thedarknesswithin
Summary: This isn’t something totally unusual, these nerves before a red carpet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> lil thing i wrote one day when i was anxious idk  
> roughly based on the grammys 2017 red carpet cam incident.

They’re in the car on the way to the red carpet, and Mitch can’t help the way he’s jittering a little, twisting his Cartier bracelet around and around on his wrist. Kirstie’s sitting next to him, and he really wishes they’d thought out their seating plan better instead of just piling into the car and slamming the doors. They _had_ been running a little late, but Kevin and Avi are in the back and Scott’s in the front.

“You okay, love?” Kirstie asks, just loud enough to be heard over the Beyoncé that’s playing, courtesy of Scott on the aux cord. She takes his hand in hers, thumbing over his knuckles, back and forth and back and forth, and Mitch feels the tension simmer down just a little.

“I’ll,” Mitch pauses. “I’ll be okay.” His voice is too quiet, but Kirstie hears.

“Okay.” She keeps running her thumb over Mitch’s hand, turning forward. She reaches forward, tapping Scott on the shoulder, mouthing something to him, and Scott nods, eyes flicking over to Mitch.

Mitch meets his gaze, and he doesn’t know what Scott sees in his eyes, but Scott gets the driver to turn onto a side street and stop the car and he and Kirstie get out without a word. Avi and Kevin don’t seem to be questioning what’s happening, but Mitch is confused and a little nervous.

A moment later, Kirstie gets in the front and Scott slides into the seat next to Mitch. He gestures to the driver to go before he presses himself closer to Mitch, taking his hand and squeezing tight. Mitch slumps into Scott’s side, dropping his head onto Scott’s shoulder and closing his eyes against the anxiety thrumming through his veins. This isn’t something totally unusual, these nerves before a red carpet, before the flashing lights and the deafening roar of millions of conversations happening all at once, before high-quality photos are released to the press to be picked apart and put on best and worst dressed lists, but today’s worse than most.

“Mitchy, take a breath for me, please,” Scott murmurs, and Mitch realizes that he’s been holding his breath. He lets it out and takes another in, and tries to keep it circling, in and out and in and out.

“Good. You’re doing good, baby. I’ll stay with you the whole time, okay? I’ll be right behind you when we get there.”

Mitch nods. He can feel the tension draining some, and Scott’s grasp on his hand is helping.

They pull up to the entrance sooner than Mitch thought they would, and Scott squeezes his hand one more time.

“I love you, Mitchy.”

“Love you too,” Mitch says, waiting for Scott to be the one to untangle their fingers. The door opens and Mitch gets out, the late afternoon sun making him dizzy and a little nauseous after the cool, dim car. He turns instinctively to Scott, who’s there at his back, fingertips resting gently at his waist, a physical reassurance that even the hawk eyes of the cameras won’t catch. Once Kirstie, Kevin, and Avi join them and the car pulls away, Scott steps away from Mitch just a little. Mitch stays close, though, as Scott leads them into the building, and once they’re out of view of most of the initial cameras, Scott drops back to Mitch’s pace.

“Doing okay, princess?” He asks quietly as they make their way to the main red carpet, where they’ll do pictures and interviews. The crowd noise grows as they approach the hall, and Mitch hesitates.

“I think so?”

“Okay, love. I’ll be right here, okay?”

“Okay,” Mitch smiles at Scott, trying to mask the way the butterflies in his tummy are going absolutely ballistic. It doesn’t really work, given the way Scott presses his knuckles into Mitch’s arm and asks Kirstie to lead. She smiles and steps out into the hall, Scott following and Mitch close behind. Avi and Kevin bring up the rear, and Mitch is glad they’re there. They won’t let the crowd close in too tightly behind him, and that will help.

Kirstie threads a way through the crowds, ducking between groups of every celebrity under the sun, everything from Youtubers to A-listers.

Mitch is just starting to relax a little, getting used to the flashing cameras, the constant roar of thousands of excited people, when Scott spots one of his friends and pushes his way through the crowd to say hi. He leaves Mitch staring, and suddenly Mitch doesn’t know what to do. He keeps the neutral expression on his face, he hopes, trying to quell the sudden panic that wells up when Kirstie keeps moving forward, unaware of Scott’s detour. Avi and Kevin slide by him to follow Kirstie, and suddenly, he’s alone in a sea of people pushing closer and he doesn’t know what to do, frantically searching for Scott’s familiar quiff amongst the hundreds of variations of hairstyles.

When he spots Scott headed back his way, he can’t help the relieved smile that finds its way onto his face. Scott beams at him, coming up behind him and shielding his back from the pressing crowds.

“Sorry, babygirl, are you alright?” Scott murmurs as Mitch moves forward to catch up with Kevin and Avi.

Mitch nods, glancing back at Scott, who’s watching him attentively. “Better now that you’re here.”

Scott grins, pressing his fingers into the small of Mitch’s back, and Mitch relaxes into the pressure. It’s just four points of contact, not even a full hand, but it helps. “Good. Never gonna leave you, love.”

“I love you, Scotty.”

“Love you more,” Scott fires back teasingly as they catch up with their bandmates.

Mitch smiles. Tonight’s going to be a battle, he can already tell, but Scott makes him stronger and braver, and the five of them together are going to fucking rock this.

 

 

-fin.

 

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment or kudos if they slayed the grammys


End file.
